One I’m a big fan of ornamental grasses. Tall ones (such as Miscanthus) add drama and height; fluffy ones (such as Stipa tenuissima) add softness, and all of them bring movement and a delicate touch to a border. I’ve been taking the time to properly look at the combinations of grasses and wildflowers on my daily dog walks. They have been looking wonderful for weeks now – the blends in nature are exquisite. The subtle colours of different grasses really are astounding and they look so beautiful in the early morning or evening sunshine. An inspiring tapestry of wild plants. Nature really does it best.
Two There’s a new house being built at the end of our road. It has a wavy, modern design that makes the most of its sea-facing position. Opinions are polarised: some people love it; others hate it. I love it. Best of all it has a green roof. I’ve been keeping an eye on it as the plants have grown and I can’t work out whether they grew from seeds already there or whether the roof has been colonised by local native plants – they do look very at-home in the landscape. Whatever, it’s a lovely sight. I took this photo a few weeks ago when the skies were blue…
Three Our lavender beds are in full bloom. The scent is delicious. It would be lovely to have a few sunny, still days to appreciate them in full. The weather has been dismal all week. I actually wore my winter coat for a damp dog walk this morning.
Four Self-sown Nigella has taken over the ‘veg patch’ in the back garden so I’ve been pulling out clumps and sticking them in vases indoors. There are no actual veg in the patch this year. We just have a lot of raspberries and strawberries, and tomatoes growing in the greenhouse. I’ve gone big on flowers. Pragmatic gardening.
Five My middle child will be away next week at a CCF camp – the activities include climbing, mountain biking, archery, fieldcraft and an overnight ambush. He’ll have a ball. My eldest will be at home doing as little as possible, so it’ll just be the youngest who’ll be going to school. She’s not terribly impressed about that. Still, it’s less than three weeks until the summer holidays. Yikes.
Have a lovely weekend. I’m hoping for some sunshine and some time in the garden.
Joining in with Amy and her popular Five on Friday. Thank you, Amy.
PS I managed to write a post without mentioning you-know-what! Oh… Drat 🙂
acoastalplot 
Beautiful pictures. I love lavender. It is so very calming, both the smell and the sight of it. I like your first picture. It is both wild and colourful and reminds me of the hikes we took this week.
Have a great weekend
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Oh that blue sky! we’ve almost forgotten what that looks like around here. I love the crisp white finish with the plants and sky, looks great.
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Hope you have blue sky today – it is here (yippee).
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Come on Sunday, we’re all missing you! Great photos of natural things. 🙂
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So charming! I really enjoyed your photographs!
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Thank you Jayne.
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I love that green roof. It reminds me of houses in Norway. I’m sure the sun will emerge now July has arrived. I’m wishing you a sunny weekend 🙂
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I hope your son has a good time away! I like your approach to pragmatic gardening. At least you can enjoy the flowers hey. Thank you for joining in with Five On Friday. I hope you have a fun weekend! xx
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I wish my lavender would flower, it’s way behind…. love those grasses very much, and that roof. x only two weeks till the summer holidays here, they’re moving into a new build and apparently need to pack………..
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Gosh, time is flying..! Fingers crossed for lovely sunny weather.
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I have seen wild grasses here, with seeds in black, and white, and red, and gold, silver and white.
Even my blue grass, has blue flowers!
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Grasses are much underrated.
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Our schools are mostly out for summer already. Our lavender is in full bloom right now, too. Enjoy your week.
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Thanks, Ellen. You too.
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Your weather sounds just like ours, getting wet whilst walking M’selle Fleur isn’t fun anytime of the year but in June and July it’s just not on!
We’re heading to the Dordogne tomorrow where I believe summer will be waiting for us.
bon weekend from Normandy.
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Here’s to plenty sunshine and warmth in the Dordogne.
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A lovely post, Sam. Such beautiful flowers and grasses and I love the green roof. We saw one in Cornwall and the local park and ride in Winchester (down the road from us) had one too. Xx
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I do like a green roof 🙂
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What a good idea to use the extra nigella seedlings like that, nice strong colour too and it matches the lavender beautifully.
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A lovely series of shots. I think the green roof is awesome.
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Yes, that summer holiday is suddenly very close isn’t it. Love the grasses as well, as you say, nature does it all so beautifully. Lavender blooming here as well, it’s one of my favourite things, that scent, divine. And the bees of course. The middle child’s camp sounds phenomenal, exactly the sort of thing that would go down well here, especially the overnight ambush. I hope he has a brilliant week. Enjoy your weekend Sam. CJ xx
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He went off with a spring in his step and it’s very quiet without him…
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I love Stipa tenuissima and it is just wonderful now. I was in a meeting with some people contemplating the borders at Wimpole yesterday and I found myself unconsciously brushing passed the overhanging grasses! If my garden was full of raspberries I would be in heaven. Enjoy
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I’m planning more grasses…
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I love the green roof. They were a common feature on early Alaska cabins. We called them sod roofs and they often had flowers studding the grass–lovely. Our lavender is just on the cusp of blooming. I have been using some lavender in my smoker for working the bees and it makes a marvelously fragrant smoke. I hope you get some sun this weekend. A winter coat in mid-summer is just wrong.
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Ooh, yes, lavender smoke. I wonder if it helps calm the bees (like it’s meant to calm humans)?
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I like ornamental grasses too. We have some pampas grass. The green roof is interesting.
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When I was in Oregon I admired all the Nigella floating around the gardens. I realize it can be something of a pest but still I thought it beautiful. I’d say if you have fresh raspberries, strawberries, and tomatoes that may be sufficient in the way of gifts from the vegetable kingdom.
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Veg/fruit whatever – they’re lovely to pick and eat from the garden 🙂
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Even if they are actually fruits.
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I love the green roof. The green must be happy to face up to that beautiful blue sky!
I do not think I have seen the green roof in my area. Your flowers in the second photo is lovely. I like the simple beauty picked from the nature. Have a good Sunday.
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Thanks for sharing the lovely photos of some of the grasses and flowers around you, Sam. Here near Portland, Oregon, my Lavender is blooming as well…but it is rather limp not bushy which I think might be due to lack of sunshine. We have large trees all around us casting lots of shade everywhere. I think it would be wonderful to have a sod roof! I hope your son has a grand time at camp and that you and yours have a happy week. xx
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Our lavender is a bit floppy here, too – I think it’s because of all the rain and wind we’ve had. More sunshine needed all round!
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The field next to us is full of grasses just like you have photographed, we have been appreciating their beauty and the range in colours too. It will be interesting to see how that green roof develops. Where has summer gone it only appeared here briefly yesterday afternoon! Sarah x
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The green roof is looking particularly lovely at the moment. I shall keep an eye on it!
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